In 2010 politicians in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines focused on the issue of whether to resume the country’s “economic citizenship” program—abandoned in 2001—which granted passports to foreign investors for a fee; the country had since refused to follow some of its fellow Caribbean states in offering that option. Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves insisted in January that his country’s citizenship was not for sale, though the opposition leader, Arnhim Eustace, countered that a “tight and well managed” economic citizenship program could attract investment by those who qualified for it.

In May the government signed a ship-boarding agreement with the U.S. to enhance cooperation in the battle against trafficking in weapons of mass destruction. The agreement would allow law-enforcement authorities from either country to board each other’s vessels if they were suspected of carrying illicit shipments of such weapons.

The IMF said in May that the economy of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, which had shrunk by 1% in 2009 and 0.6% in 2008, was projected to recover gradually over the medium term, supported by consumer spending and a modest increase in employment. The IMF also noted that although the country’s fiscal deficit was expected to grow in the short term, the government had plans to reduce it over time through a number of measures intended to raise revenue and reduce spending.

Hurricane Tomas lashed the islands in late October, causing significant damage to crops and infrastructure.